136 
EAGLE RAY. 
the ovum attached to its body; and threads or fibres projecting 
from the orifices of the gills; such as are known to exist m 
the Sharks and Kays, and indeed also in toads, frogs, and 
water-lizards, in the early stages of their existence; but which 
in the former disappear when their functions are no longer 
needed, considerably before they arc *rust upon an indepen- 
dent existence. The spine on the tail had not yet made its 
appearance. I have received by the kindness of a gentleman 
in Dorsetshire, another purse of the same sort,^ obtained on the 
coast of that county; a further proof that this fish is not so 
rare a visitor as has been supposed. 
Besides the above proof that this fish produces its young by 
means of purses instead of producing them alive, the circum- 
stances here related also shew that it is not merely a rare visitor 
to our neighbourhood; and of this also the following incident 
furnishes evidence; for that it refers to this species I feel no 
manner of doubt:— A fisherman, long and well acc^uainted with 
the fishes of the British seas, and especiaUy with all our common 
sorts of the family of Rays, informed me that in the month of 
July, whilst at sea, his attention was attracted to a fish which 
was swimming close to the surface, when the sea was smooth 
and the weather fine. Its general appearance was that of the 
Ray kind, but with a particular aspect, which on closer 
inquiry clearly answered to that of the Eagle Ray ; the eyes 
especially attracting his notice, as at the side of the head, and 
resembling those of an ox. When he approached it for 
examination, the boat passed over it, and in doing so inflicted 
a violent blow, which caused the fish to turn almost over in the 
water; but it presently set itself right again, and moved heavily 
onward. He laid hold of it with the boat-hook; but the weight, 
which, on comparison with the Skates, he judged to be not 
less than three hundred pounds, was too great for him, and 
he was obliged to resign the task, and he finally lost sight of 
it; but not by the sinking of the fish, for it continued near 
the surface until the boat had passed to leeward out of sight. 
The incident here related shews the fish to be of dull and 
sluggish habits; but that it is not so great a stranger as has 
been supposed even on the north of British coasts, appears 
from the fact, that an example was obtained by Dr. George 
Johnston, in the neighbourhood of Berwick. 
